What are the cultural roots of the Lamp of the Genie?
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The basis for binding genies or jinn to household objects comes from medieval Islamic lore surrounding King Solomon of Israel.
King Solomon used a magic ring to control djinn and protect him from them. The ring was set with a gem, probably a diamond, that had a living force of its own. With the ring, Solomon branded the necks of the djinn as his slaves.
One story tells that a jealous djinn (sometimes identified as Asmodeus) stole the ring while Solomon bathed in the river Jordan. The djinn seated himself on Solomon's throne at his palace and reigned over his kingdom, forcing Solomon to become a wanderer. God compelled the djinn to throw the ring into the sea. Solomon retrieved it and punished the djinn by imprisoning him in a bottle.
-- Guiley, Rosemary. The Encyclopedia of Demons and Demonology
The idea that sitting around somewhere on a forgotten shelf was an old, dusty bottle, containing a powerful magical being who was bound to serve human wishes, was an attractive catch for storytellers, as evidenced by the fact that this old legend has been respun several times in tales both ancient and modern.
As far as the lamp itself is concerned, it was yet another household container that one might find anywhere. The connection between lamps and spirits was fairly common in Jewish culture (see Revelation 4:5 for one example), so it is possible the signficance of this imagery played a factor in a lamp being chosen for the tale of Aladdin rather than a bottle or a jar.
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Genies (also called jinn or genii) are spirits in cultures of the Middle East and Africa. The term genie comes from the Arabic word jinni, which referred to an evil spirit that could take the shape of an animal or person. It could be found in every kind of nonliving thing, even air and fire.
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